Perdre Expressions

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Losing French Phrases

The French verb perdre, “to lose,” is found in many idiomatic expressions, including to get mixed up, to waste time, and to go crazy. Learn these and dozens of other French expressions featuring perdre.

Perdre translations

• to be down (points)
• to get out of (a habit)
• to leak (water)
• to lose
• to mislay
• to miss
• to ruin
• to shed
• to spoil
• to waste (time, money)

Perdre expressions

perdre confiance			to lose one’s confidence
perdre connaissance			to pass out, lose consciousness
perdre (le) contact (avec un ami)			to lose touch (with a friend)
perdre courage			to lose heart, courage
perdre du poids			to lose weight
perdre du temps			to waste time
perdre du terrain			to lose ground
perdre espoir			to lose hope
perdre l’équilibre			to lose one’s balance
perdre l’esprit			to go out of one’s mind
perdre l’occasion de			to miss the opportunity to
perdre la boule	(informal)		to go crazy
perdre la parole			to lose the power of speech
perdre la raison			to go out of one’s mind
perdre la tête			to go crazy
perdre la vie			to lose one’s life
perdre la vue			to lose one’s vision
perdre le contrôle			to lose control
perdre le fil	(informal)		to lose the thread (of a conversation)
perdre le goût de (travailler, manger)			to lose interest in, to not feel like (working, eating)
perdre le nord	(informal)		to get confused
perdre le souffle			to be out of breath
perdre les pédales	(informal)		to lose track, get confused, go crazy
perdre patience			to lose patience
perdre pied			to be out of one’s depth (literally and figuratively)
perdre quelqu’un de vue			to lose sight of someone
perdre sa page (en lisant)			to lose one’s place (while reading)
perdre ses moyens			to crack up, go insane
perdre son pantalon			to have one’s pants/trousers falling down
perdre son temps			to waste time
perdre un ami de vue			to lose touch with a friend
courir à perdre haleine			to run as fast as one can
Elle a perdu les eaux	(grossesse)		Her water broke (pregnancy)
gagner une bataille mais perdre la guerre			to win the battle but lose the war
J’y perds mon latin			It’s all Greek to me; I can’t make heads or tails of it
n’avoir rien à perdre			to have nothing to lose
Tu n’y perds rien !			It’s no great loss, You haven’t missed anything.
Tu y perds			It’s your lost
se perdre			to get lost, lose one’s way to disappear, vanish, be dying out
se perdre dans les détails			to get bogged down in details
se perdre dans la foule			to get lost in the crowd
se perdre dans la nuit			to vanish into the night, get swallowed by darkness
se perdre dans ses pensées			to be lost in thought
se perdre dans le vacarme			to get lost in the din, get drowned out by the din
Je m’y perds			I’m lost, I’m all confused
Rien ne se perd, rien ne se crée (tout se transforme)			Matter can neither be created nor destroyed (only transformed)
le sens s’est perdu			the meaning has been lost

 Related lessons

• Perdre conjugations
• Adverbial pronoun y
• Prepositions
• Pronominal verbs